Conventionally, various tests and treatments are performed based on the electrical signals transmitted by electronic components, such as a heat element, a pressure sensor, a temperature measurement thermistor and the like, set in the anterior end or an intermediate part of a tube of a catheter inserted into the body of patients. Such an electronic component-loaded catheter is described, for example, in JP-A-11-56794 and JP-A-2001-170013.
The aforementioned “anterior end of a tube” means an end of the head of a catheter (tube) in the length direction, which is to be inserted into the body of patients, and the “anterior end of a tube” in the following description in the present specification means an end of the head of a catheter (tube) in the length direction when inserted into the body of patients, and the “posterior end of a tube” means the other end of the tube, which is the opposite side from the head, in the length direction.
In the above-mentioned catheter comprising an electronic component in a tube, an electrical signal sent by an electronic component in the anterior end or an intermediate part of a tube inserted in the body of patients is processed by a measuring apparatus etc. connected to the posterior end of the tube outside the body of patients. When the operation of the aforementioned electronic component is to be controlled, it is remotely controlled by a control device connected to the posterior end of a tube outside the body of patients. Therefore, a signal line to transmit an electrical signal between the electronic component and a measuring apparatus, a control device and the like needs to be installed in the tube of an electronic component-loaded catheter. As such signal line, signal cables such as flat cable etc. have been conventionally used, as in the catheters described in the aforementioned JP-A-11-56794 and JP-A-2001-170013. Recently, however, for higher functions of electronic components to be set in a tube, this kind of catheter is required to contain an increased number of signal lines. When the number of signal cables is increased to contain many signal lines, the tube containing the signal cables needs to be made thicker. As a result, problems of lower operability of catheter in the body of patients and increased pain felt by patients during operation of catheter occur.
In view of the above-mentioned situation, the problem to be solved by the present invention is provision of an electronic component-loaded catheter capable of reducing increase in the size of tube that contains an increased number of signal lines to be connected to an electronic component, as well as a production method of a catheter, which is capable of efficiently manufacturing such catheter.